June 26
Events * 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by the troops on the battlefield. * 684 - Benedict II becomes Pope. *1284 - According to legend, the Pied Piper lures 130 children of Hamelin away. *1409 - Western Schism: The Roman Catholic church is led into a double schism as Petros Philargos is crowned Pope Alexander V after the Council of Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Pope Benedict XII in Avignon. *1483 - Richard III becomes king of England. *1541 - Francisco Pizarro is assassinated in Lima by the son of his former companion and later antagonist, Diego Almagro the younger. Diego is later caught and executed. *1718 - Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia, Peter the Great's son, mysteriously dies after being sentenced to death by his father for plotting against him. *1723 - After a lasting siege and firing from the cannons Baku surrendered to Russians. *1807 - Lightning hits a warehouse in Luxembourg, killing 230 people. *1819 - The bicycle is patented. *1848 - End of the June Days Uprising in Paris. *1857 - The first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London. *1870 - The Christian holiday of Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States. *1918 - World War I Western Front: Battle for Belleau Wood - Allied Forces under John J. Pershing & James Harbord defeat Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm. *1924 - American occupying forces leave the Dominican Republic. *1927 - The Cyclone roller coaster opens on Coney Island *1934 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Federal Credit Union Act, which establishes credit unions. * 1934 - Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter. *1940 - World War II: Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina. *1945 - The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco. *1948 - The Western allies start an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union has blockaded West Berlin. *1948 - William Shockley filed the original patent for the grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor. *1959 - The Saint Lawrence Seaway opens, opening North America's Great Lakes to ocean-going ships. *1960 - Former British Protectorate of Somaliland British Somaliland gains its independence *1963 - John F. Kennedy speaks the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner" on a visit to West Berlin. *1973 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome 9 people are killed in an explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket. *1974 - The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time to sell a package of Wrigley's chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio *1975 - Indira Gandhi establishes authoritarian rule in India. * 1975 - Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial. *1976 - The CN Tower, the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world, was opened. *1977 - The Yorkshire Ripper kills 16 year old shop assistant Jayne MacDonald in Leeds, changing public perception of the killer as she was the first victim who was not a prostitute. *1978 - Air Canada Flight 189 to Toronto overran the runway and crashed into the Etobicoke Creek ravine. Two of 107 passengers onboard died. *1981 - Couples For Christ, a Christian charismatic organization, established in the Philippines. *1992 - Denmark wins the European Football Championship title by beating Germany 2-0 in Nya Ullevi stadium (Gothenburg,Sweden) *1993 - The U.S. launches a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for a thwarted assassination attempt against former President George H.W. Bush in April in Kuwait. *1995 - Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani deposed his father Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, in a bloodless coup. *1996 - Irish Journalist Veronica Guerin is shot in her car while in traffic in the outskirts of Dublin *1997 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Communications Decency Act violates the First Amendment *1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling is published in the United Kingdom. *2003 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas. *2006 - The Republic of Montenegro becomes the 192nd member of the United Nations. Births *1575 - Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1612) *1681 - Hedwig Sophia, Swedish writer (d. 1708) *1689 - Edward Holyoke, American academic (d. 1769) *1694 - Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and minerologist (d. 1768) *1702 - Philip Doddridge, English religious leader (d. 1751) *1703 - Thomas Clap, American academic (d. 1767) *1819 - Abner Doubleday, American Major General (d. 1893) *1824 - Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (d. 1907) *1838 - Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengali Novelist (d. 1894) *1854 - Robert Laird Borden, Canadian politician (d. 1937) *1865 - Bernard Berenson, American art historian (d. 1959) *1866 - George Herbert, English financier of Egyptian excavations (d. 1923) *1869 - Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (d. 1954) *1892 - Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1973) *1895 - George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1950) *1898 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft designer (d. 1978) * 1898 - Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history (d. 1971) *1899 - Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918) *1902 - Hugues Cuénod, Swiss Tenor *1904 - Frank Scott Hogg, Canadian astronomer (d. 1951) * 1904 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (d. 1964) *1906 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer (d. 1974) * 1906 - Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer *1907 - Debs Garms, American baseball player (d. 1984) *1909 - Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager (d. 1997) *1911 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (d. 1956) *1914 - Laurie Lee, British writer (d. 1997) *1915 - Charlotte Zolotow, American author *1919 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (d. 2003) *1921 - Violette Szabo, French WWII secret agent (d. 1945) *1922 - Eleanor Parker, American actress *1923 - Barbara Graham, American murderer (d. 1955) *1924 - Costas Axelos, Greek philosopher *1925 - Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1970) *1928 - Jacob Druckman, American composer (d. 1996) *1933 - Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor * 1933 - Gene Green, American baseball player (d. 1981) *1934 - Jeremy Wolfenden, British journalist (d. 1965) * 1934 - Dave Grusin, American jazz pianist *1936 - Robert Maclennan, British politician * 1936 - Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, Archbishop of Montreal *1937 - Sombat Metanee, Thai film actor * 1937 - Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel laureate *1938 - Gerald North, American climatologist *1941 - Yves Beauchemin, Canadian novelist *1942 - Gilberto Gil, Brazilian singer and Minister of Culture *1943 - John Beasley, American actor * 1943 - Georgie Fame, British singer *1945 - Dwight York, American cult leader *1951 - Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer *1954 - Steve Barton, American actor (d. 2001) *1955 - Mick Jones, British guitarist (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite) *1956 - Chris Isaak, American singer *1957 - Patty Smyth, American singer (Scandal) * 1957 - Philippe Couillard, Quebec neurosurgeon and politician *1959 - Mark McKinney, Canadian actor *1960 - Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist *1961 - Greg LeMond, American cyclist * 1961 - Terri Nunn, American singer (Berlin) *1963 - Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, Russian businessman * 1963 - Richard Garfield, American game designer *1967 - Todd Pletcher, American horse trainer *1968 - Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer * 1968 - Shannon Sharpe, American football player *1969 - Colin Greenwood, British musician (Radiohead) * 1969 - Mike Myers, American baseball player *1970 - Chris O'Donnell, American actor *1970 - Sean Hayes, American Actor * 1970 - Irv Gotti, American record producer * 1970 - Paul Thomas Anderson, American filmmaker * 1970 - Nick Offerman, American actor *1971 - Max Biaggi, Italian motorcycle racer *1972 - Garou, Canadian singer * 1972 - Jai Taurima, Australian long jumper *1973 - Gretchen Wilson, American singer * 1973 - Paweł Małaszyński, Polish actor * 1973 - Jussi Sydänmaa, Finnish musician (Lordi) *1974 - Matt Striker, American professional wrestler * 1974 - Derek Jeter, American baseball player * 1974 - Jeff Frankenstein, American musician (Newsboys) * 1974 - Jason Kendall, American baseball player *1975 - Jonah Sorrentino, American hip hop artist *1976 - Ed Jovanovski, Canadian ice hockey player * 1976 - Chad Pennington, American football player * 1976 - Joe Landon, American pornographic actor *1977 - Kubo Tite, Japanese cartoonist *1979 - Kostas Katsouranis, Greek footballer * 1979 - Walter Herrmann, Argentinian basketball player * 1979 - Andy O'Brien, English footballer * 1979 - Ryo Fukuda, Japanese racing driver *1980 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor * 1980 - Michael Vick, American football player * 1980 - Chris Shelton, American baseball player *1983 - Leela James, American singer *1984 - Elijah Dukes, American baseball player * 1984 - Raymond Felton, American basketball player * 1984 - Deron Williams, American basketball player * 1984 - Jose Juan Barea, American basketball player *1985 - Urgyen Trinley Dorje, Tibetan spiritual leader *1986 - Casey Desmond, American singer *1987 - Carlos Iaconelli, Brazilian racing driver *1992 - Jennette McCurdy, American actress *2005 - Princess Alexia of the Netherlands Deaths * 363 - Julian the Apostate, Roman Emperor (killed in battle) (b. 331) *1291 - Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III of England *1541 - Francisco Pizarro, Spanish conqueror of Peru (murdered) *1688 - Ralph Cudworth, English philosopher (b. 1617) *1784 - Caesar Rodney, American lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1728) *1793 - Gilbert White, English ornithologist (b. 1720) *1810 - Joseph Michel Montgolfier, inventor of the hot air balloon (b. 1740) *1836 - Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French composer (La Marseillaise) (b. 1760) *1878 - Mercedes of Orleans, queen of Spain (b. 1860) *1918 - Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843) *1922 - Albert I (b. 1848) *1939 - Ford Madox Ford, English writer (b. 1873) *1943 - Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1868) *1946 - Yosuke Matsuoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan (b. 1880) * 1946 - Max Kögel, SS officer (b. 1895) *1947 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870) *1956 - Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1930) *1957 - Alfred Döblin, German writer (b. 1878) *1958 - George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873) * 1958 - Andrija Štampar, Croatian physician and United Nations diplomat (b. 1888) *1964 - Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect (b. 1888) *1967 - Françoise Dorléac, French actress (b. 1942) *1975 - St. Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest (b. 1902) *1992 - Herman Rohde, professional wrestler (b. 1921) *1993 - William H. Riker, American political scientist (b. 1920) * 1993 - Roy Campanella, Major League baseball player (b. 1921) * 1994 - Jahanara Imam, Bangladeshi writer and political activist (b. 1929) *1996 - Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958) *1997 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (b. 1959) *2001 - Soccer (b. 1988) *2002 - Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913) * 2002 - Jay Berwanger, American football player (b. 1914) *2003 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (b. 1975) * 2003 - Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902) * 2003 - Sir Dennis Thatcher MBE, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915) *2004 - Yash Johar, Indian film producer (b. 1929) *2005 - Richard Whiteley, British television game show host (b. 1943) *2007 - Liz Claiborne, Belgian-born American fashion designer (b. 1929) * 2007 - Joey Sadler, All Black rugby player (b. 1914) Holidays and observances * International Day in Support of Torture Victims * International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking * Lebanon: Prophet's Birthday (until 1999) * Madagascar: Independence Day * Romania: Flag Day * Thailand: Sunthorn Phu Day * Somaliland: Independence Day Liturgical observances * Mar AbhaiHolweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924. * Anthelm of Belley * Saint Babolenus * Saint David * Saints John and Paul * Saint Josemaría Escrivá (d. 1975) * Saint Vigilius References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:June